Devices for packing articles



Oct. 4, 1960 A. SERAGNOLI 2,954,655

DEVICES FOR PACKING ARTICLES Filed Nov. 7, 1958 2 Shee'ts$heet l as IV flk/osro .SERAGNOL/ IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

Oct. 4, 1960 A. SERAGNOLI DEVICES FOR PACKING ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 7, 1958 ,4R/0s7'0 SERAGNOL/ 1N VEN TOR.

BY a/flly 4 9 0%.,

,4 TTORNEYS.

United States The present invention concerns a device for wrapping articles of the type comprising a rotatable support, pincers attached to the support for intermittently rotating the support and means for opening and closing the pincers during the pauses of the support and for feeding and discharging the articles and the wrapping material.

Devices for packing articles are known in which a support, rotating intermittently about a normally horizontal axis, is provided with a certain number of pincers for gripping and conveying the articles and the wrapping material.

In the rot-ation of the support, each pincer successively stops at a predetermined number of fixed stations.

In at least one of these stations there are introduced,

into the pincers, at least one article and/or a sheet of wrapping material. In the movement from one station to the other and during the sojourn in the individual stations, the wrapping material is folded and wrapped round the object by means of fixed and displaceable folding members respectively. Finally the article is removed, completely wrapped, to a discharge station.

In known types of devices, the pincers are made so as to constitute an obstacle to the folding and wrapping of the wrappingm'aterial round the article, thus the use of fixed folding members is generally possible only for effecting a U-shaped fold of the wrapping material round the article, with the folds of the U turned outwardly, substantially in a radial direction (with respect to the I axis of rotation of the support).

To complete the wrapping a considerable number of ,operations is then still necessary which are effected in the stations, during the sojourns, in which the article is temporarily gripped by subsidiary grippers and released .by the pincers which open, while the folds are made with movable folders.

it The object of the present invention is to provide a I simplified wrapping-device, resulting in the saving of a portion of the subsidiary grippers and movable folders.

. According to the present invention, in a wrapping device, of the type described, the rear arm of a pair of pincers is elbow shaped and is adapted to permit thereon the. folding of wrapping material about an article, at

least one folding passage being provided for a first U folding of the wrapping material about the article with ;the folds in a substantially tangential direction, which passage has an inner and an outer stationary circumferential folder coaxial with the shaft of a support for the device.

The invention will be described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in

which: i I

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic vertical section of a preferred form of wrapping device on the line XX of Fig. 2; i Fig. 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic section of the device on the line Y-Y of Fig. l; and

Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary perspective views of the device during a wrapping operation.

"aren t It will be noted that no description is given of the parts of the device which concern the feeding, of the articles to be wrapped, to the pincers and of the sheets of wrapping material and the gripping and removal from the pincers of the wrapped article, all of which may be effected by any known method.

A wrapping device comprises an intermittently rotating support 11, carried by a shaft 12 rotating within a sleeve 44 attached to a fixed base 13.

The intermittent rotation may be obtained by any known means, for example, a Maltese cross, and the means to obtain it are not shown since they are outside the scope of the invention.

Hinged to the support 11 are a plurality of similar pincers for gripping and conveying the objects to be wrapped. The pincers are formed by a pair of arms, a leading arm 17 and a rear elbow shaped arm 16.

The arms 16 and 17 are pivoted on the support 11 at 14 and 15 respectively. In the intermittent rotation of the support 11, each pincer successively stops in pre determined stations indicated by the Roman numerals I, II, III etc. Compression springs 18 are arranged between the arms of the pincers which springs tend to keep the arms at relative spaced intervals by opening the pincers. The arms 16 and 17 of the pincers have links 19, 20 respectively, each of which carries a roller, 21, 22 respectively. A member 25, having two cams 23, 24 each co-operating respectively with the rollers 21, 22 is pivoted on the sleeve 44, carried by the fixed base 13, and coaxially with the shaft 12. The cams have an outer circular profile coaxial with the shaft 12, interrupted by recesses. A rod 26, connected to the member 25, by means of a pivot 27 and actuated by a cam system of the usual type (not shown), causes the member 25 and the two cams 23, 24, integral therewith, to oscillate.

In the relative movement of the cams 23, 24 and the support, the rollers 21, 22 are periodically disposed on the circular external part of the profile of the cams which holds them outwardly by opposing the thrust of the spring 18 and by maintaining the corresponding arm of the pincers in the closed position. Periodically, however, the rollers are disposed in the recesses of the profiles as they follow the thrust of the springs 18, and the respective arm of the pincer opens, releasing the article 10.

Fixed to the base is a system of cooperating stationary guides which are constituted by fixed folding passages which develop to arcs of circles coaxial with the shaft '12. In the example illustrated there are two successive folding passages 28 and 29. The passage 28 comprises an outer circumferential wall 30 and an inner wall 31, the latter being interrupted by an aperture 32 into which pass the arms of the pincers. For the purpose of keeping the aperture 32 narrow, the arms have a flattened cross section, as shown in the figures, and they pass like a knife in the aperture itself. At their beginning the walls 30, 31, have folding edges 45, 46.

The folding passage is completed by lateral walls 33, 34 substantially developed in planes normal to the axis of the shaft 12. At their beginning the folding Walls have parts 47, 48, 49, which are moulded to form known folders and are helically winding.

The second folding passage 29 in the example illustrated, comprises members practically identical with those of the first folding passage 28.

In station I there are disposed conventional means (not shown), which, acting during a pause of the, support 11, carry an article 10 to be wrapped and a sheet of wrapping material 35 into the pincers, which are temporarily at rest.

In station II there are disposed a gripper 36, two lateral folders 37, and two other radial folders 38, 39 which pass into apertures in the folding passage.

means (not shown), which carry, above the article already wrapped in the first sheet 35, a second sheet 41 of wrapping material. I

In station IV there are disposed members 36', 37 33, 39 which are a repetition of those having the same numerals in station II.

In station V there are disposed conventional means (not shown), which grip the already wrapped article and carry it out of the field of operation of the pincers.

In the figure all the parts are shown during a pause of the rotating support 11.

The operation of the device is as follows:

During intermittent rotation, at every advancing movement, the support 11 rotates by an amount corresponding to the step between one pincer and the other and stops: each pincer is then disposed a station (Fig. I). At the end of the rotation the cams 23, 24 are some- What rotated to the right relative to the figure in the directionopposite to that of the arrow 42 so that, under each roller there is disposed an external circular portion of the corresponding cam, with the result that the rollers are raised and the pincers are closed, holding the respective articles.

Exceptions may be made to this condition, by the pincers which are in stations I and VI, which may already be opened provided they do not carry any article.

In their turn, the grippers 36, 40 and 36' and the lateral folders 37 are outside, with respect to Figs. 1 and 2, and out of contact With the article or the wrapping material.

As soon as the support 11 stops, a system of cams (not shown), acts on the grippers 36, 40 and 36 bringing them near the article which is in the corresponding station, to press it against the inner wall 31, of the folding passage and holding it tight. In station V the means of gripping and removal of the wrapped article (not shown), grip and hold the article itself, held also by the pincer.

successively, the cams 23 and 24 are rotated to the left by means of the action of the connecting rod 26 on the pivot 27 in the direction of the arrow 42, carrying them to the position shown in Fig. l.

The recesses in the cams are thus under some of the rollers 21, 22 which are disposed in accordance with the profile of the cams themselves under the thrust of the springs 18 and open the corresponding arms of the pincers as shown in Fig. l.

The operations of the displaceable feeding, folding and removal members are described here below.

In station I the feeding members, not shown, carry an article and a sheet 35, between the jaws of the corresponding pincer.

In station II and IV the lateral folders 37 and 37 respectively make lateral folds under the article and in succession the folders 38, 39 and 38, 39' respectively make the other two folds under the article.

In station III a second sheet of wrapping material is carried over the article.

In station V the gripping and removal means (not shown), convey the article out of the field of action of :the pincers.

successively, the cams 23, 24 are finally rotated in the direction of the arrow 42 by an amount necessary to convey, under the rollers 21, 22, another external circular Zone of the cams themselves reclosing the pincers which grip and hold the objects which are between their jaws.

Successively the grippers 36, 40, and 36 withdraw outwardly, releasing the hold and, finally the support 11 rotates by one step in the direction of the arrow 43, accompanied for a step by the cams 23, by 24 which rotate in the same direction and move to the position which they had before moving in the direction of the arrow 42.

.During this rotation the articles and the wrapping material held by the pincers, are advanced by one step, each passing from one station to the next. In this movement the sheets of wrapping material which had been conveyed above the article in stations I and III are subjected to the action of the stationary folders and wrapped round the object, becoming folded over the four sides of the article itself in parallel to the direction of movement.

The manner in which the folding takes place will be described with reference to the action of the first folding passage 28.

When the pincers enter the passage 28, the external and internal folds of the sheet 35, passing between the folding edges 45 and 46 of the outer and inner walls 30 and 31 respectively are folded the shape of a U round the article, as shown in Fig. 3, being folded backwardly with respect to the direction in which the pincers advance, substantially tangentially (with reference to circles concentric with the shaft 12).

This first folding operation is made possible by. the elbow shape of the pincer 16, which constitutes one of the characteristics of the invention;

successively the parts of the U projecting from the profile of the article are subjected to the action of the lateral folders 47, 48 and 49, which fold them round the article with superimposed folds as shown in Fig. 4.

Thus, when the articles reach the stations II and IV, they are ready to be subjected to the final folding operations of the edges of the sheet under the object, which is effected by the displaceable folders in the already stated manner.

The advantage of being able to efiect the folding to such an advanced state in a stationary folding passage is due to the fact that the first U fold is made by the outer and internal circumferential walls between which the object is carried by the pincers, the arms of which pass into the aperture 32, this aperture is the other feature upon which the invention is based.

The above advantageous possibilities then makes it possible to carry out, on the same machine, and with a limited number of grippers and movable folders, two superimposed wrappings, as shown in Fig. 1. The invention comprises one or a plurality of folding passages.

Thus a new series of folding operation begins.

By thus having described the invention with reference to a preferred embodiment it will be obvious to any one skilled in the art, after having understood it, that the invention may be carried out in many alternative .and varying forms within the scope of the appended claims.

Among others, it is thus provided that:

The cams may be such as to close by their shape as also by force. V

The gripping of the object may be effected resiliently by using spring-loaded pincers or by providing the area of contact with the article with resilient material.

The cams may act in the opening direction of the pincers as also in the closing direction thereof, either directly or through the intermediary of levers.

The walls of the folding passage may be combined or separate, and the stationary folders may be of any known type and for any known type of wrapping.

One of the arms of the pincers may be stationary; the aperture in the inner wall of the folding passages may be eccentric; the aperture may be on a lateral wall.

The opening and the closing of the pincers may be effected in any known manner; the displaceable lateral and radial folders may act at various station's.

What I claim is:

1. A device for wrapping articles comprising a shaft, a support rotatably mounted on said shaft, a pair of pincers pivotally mounted on said support, said pair of pincers including a leading arm and a rear elbow-shaped arm and means defining a folding passage to provide a folding of the wrapping material about the article with the folds in a substantially tangential direction respect to said rotatable support around a portion of said 5 rear arm, said passage means having an inner and outer stationary circumferential folder coaxial with said shaft.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said inner folder has an aperture therein for the passage of the jaws of said pincers.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means defining a folding passage includes lateral walls provided with stationary folders adapted to fold the wrapping material about the article which projects beyond the article.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Italy Feb. 5, 1932 

